SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER THE LAST STOP ON THE EUROPEAN TOUR HAD MOST EVERYONE ANTICIPATING NEXT YEAR'S MAIN EVENT

On Sunday afternoon at Valderrama Golf Club in Sotogrande,Spain, Mark McNulty won the Volvo Masters by seven shots, thusclosing the books on the 1996 European tour and the golf seasonon both sides of the Atlantic. Finally.

With that tedium behind us, we can begin concentrating on theonly thing that matters, the Ryder Cup. It's a mere 326 daysuntil the biennial battle for the trophy donated by British seedmerchant Samuel Ryder, and the Volvo Masters provided a welcomesneak preview. It will be a momentous occasion when the matchbegins at Valderrama next Sept. 26, marking the goldenanniversary of the Ryder Cup as well as the first time theEuropeans have hosted the event outside the British Isles. Thereis also the possibility of major changes on both teams, with thefamiliar stars who have dominated the 1980s and most of the '90sbeing swept aside at last by the next generation.

The love-in at Valderrama last week left little doubt that thecourse will be a worthy site. U.S. captain Tom Kite found thatout a month ago when, after winning the OKI Pro-Am in Madrid, hesneaked down to Sotogrande to tee it up and tour the facilities."Valderrama is a spectacular, demanding course, and it's goingto put a lot of players to the test," Kite told local journalists.

Informed of this rave at the Volvo Masters, European captainSeve Ballesteros formally kicked off the Ryder Cup festivitieswith the first instance of back talk. "I'm glad he likes thecourse," Ballesteros said with typical swagger. "As I recall, atOak Hill [in Rochester, N.Y., where the U.S. lost in '95] theAmericans really liked the course, too."

Ballesteros notwithstanding, visitors to Valderrama nextSeptember can expect a warm welcome. The course is perched onSpain's Costa del Sol, the sunny southern coast, 15 milesnortheast of Gibraltar. The area is so tourist-friendly (andhome to so many British expatriates) that the menus arebilingual, as are most of the shopkeepers. And if you'rewondering how endemic Ryder Cup fever has become among thenormally golf-apathetic Spaniards, consider that in the tinyharbor village of Puerto de la Duquesa, 10 miles fromValderrama, is a bar named Ryder's, in honor of the big event.

Ryder's turned out to be a popular spot with the players and thecaddies during the Volvo Masters, but it was not the hangoversfrom San Miguel beer that accounted for the high scores.McNulty's modest winning score of eight under par, and the factthat only five of the 66 competitors finished in the red, are atestament to Valderrama. Although the course plays to just 6,819yards, its twisty, undulating fairways cut a swath throughnearly 100 bunkers, six lakes, two streams, 3,000 pine trees,500 olive trees and a forest of cork oaks. "Believe it or not,"Kite said, referring to the oaks, "this reminds me of Austin,Texas." Valderrama's greens are multitiered and roll like marblefloors. Players must contend with two prevailing winds, thewarm, dry poniente from the west and the humid, more temperatelevante, which blows easterly. And did we mention the greedyrough? "Valderrama requires strategy and precision, and that iswhy it's going to be a great Ryder Cup venue," says Scottishstalwart Sam Torrance, who has played on eight Ryder Cup teams.

Las Aves--as it was known until 10 years ago--was built in theearly 1970s by Robert Trent Jones, with the backing of Americanreal estate mogul Col. Joe McMicking. The course was renamed,and redesigned by Jones, in 1986, after being purchased byBolivian mining billionaire Jaime Ortiz-Patinio. Jones'smakeover was enhanced by the acquisition of a considerableamount of surrounding property, including an estate namedValderrama. Jones has called the layout one of his five best.

Valderrama places a premium on risk-reward shots, the kind thatmade the '91 Ryder Cup, played at Pete Dye's Ocean Course onKiawah Island, S.C., so thrilling. The many shortish, doglegpar-4s force a player to decide whether to lay up or go forbroke off the tee. The three par-5s on the par-71 course arereachable in two, depending on the wind. The 4th, a par-5 with asplit fairway and cascading water guarding the green, isValderrama's signature hole. "It's probably the best of mypar-5s in the world," says Jones. Adds Miguel Angel Jimenez, aveteran pro from Spain, "What I like about number 4, and thiscourse, is that you must have brains to play it, but you alsomust have huevos."

Valderrama's beauty matches its shot values. From the 11thgreen--the prime lookout--the vistas extend from the Serrania deRonda mountains on the north to the Mediterranean Sea and allthe way to the coast of north Africa.

Valderrama, however, is not perfect. There is limited room forgalleries, particularly around many greens. That was O.K. duringthe Volvo Masters, which drew light crowds, but, says seven-timeRyder Cupper Ian Woosnam, "with 30,000 people following onlyfour matches, it's going to be a bit cozy."

Where all these fans are going to crash for the night is also aconcern. (Both Ryder Cup teams will be sequestered at the swankySan Roque Club, which is next door to Valderrama and earned highmarks from Kite.) The coastline is dotted with places to stay,ranging from charming Andalusian villas to utilitarian high-risehotels to shockingly cheesy tourist resorts. However, there arenot enough of any of them, even with the four "floating hotels"(cruise ships that will dock offshore) that will be brought infor the Ryder Cup, and tales of price gouging are already makingthe rounds.

Valderrama has also been criticized for being too short. "Thisis not a Ryder Cup course," said David Frost at the VolvoMasters. "There are too many short holes." That's poppycock,according to Colin Montgomerie. "Just look at the scores here,"said Monty. "Par here is a very good score." It certainly wasfor him. Monty finished eight over, 16 strokes in back ofMcNulty, but he still ended up on top of the European tour'smoney list for the fourth straight year, with 875,146 [pounds]($1,474,187).

Although the Volvo Masters has been held at Valderrama for nineyears, seemingly giving the Europeans a home-field advantagenext September, there is a widespread feeling that the course issomehow better suited to the Yanks. "It's a very Americancourse, too American," says Northern Ireland's Ronan Rafferty,who feels that Valderrama's imposed hazards and the subsequentneed to play high, marshmallowy approach shots are more typicalof U.S. layouts. It's an interesting debate, but Jimenez says,"There is too much talk about the course. In the Ryder Cup youdon't compete against the course, you compete against theplayer. That is what you need to talk about."

Yes, and there is so much to say. "You hear a lot about all thegood young players in America," says Darren Clarke of NorthernIreland. "We have some over here, too." Clarke, 28, is astrapping 6'3" and 17 stone (238 pounds), and 1996 equaled thebest of his six years on tour--he won his second tournament, theGerman Masters, and finished eighth on the money list. Hispowerful game and fearless style took him to the brink of makingthe last two Ryder Cup teams, and he looks like a sure thing in'97, as he is fourth on the points list. (The top 10automatically qualify, and Ballesteros, like Kite, has twocaptain's choices.)

Clarke could easily be joined by Alexander Cejka, the Czechnative who lives in Germany and won last year's Volvo Masters aswell as two other tournaments. Cejka, 26, was seduced by the PGATour this season and entered only 12 tournaments in Europe."Unfortunately, you can't have the experience of playing inAmerica and also earn Ryder Cup points in Europe," says Cejka,who is not among the top 50 on the points list. He is leaningtoward playing a full schedule in Europe next year to make upfor lost time.

The two up-and-comers battling for the Sir Henry Cotton Rookieof the Year award have displayed enough talent for Ballesterosto take notice. "[Padraig] Harrington and [Thomas] Bjorn arevery impressive players," says Seve. Both 25-year-olds have wona tournament this year, Bjorn on the strength of his short gameand Harrington with pluck and a crafty ability to escapetrouble. Bjorn is second on the Ryder Cup points list,Harrington 19th and heading north. "For the future of the RyderCup we need some young stars to step forward," says Bjorn, whosevictory last month in the Loch Lomond World Invitational madehim the first Dane to win on the European tour. "The samehandful of older players have been carrying us for so long, andnow is our time."

Yes, Nick Faldo remains a pillar, Montgomerie a star, Woosnam(four wins, second on the money list) had his best year since1990, and Costantino Rocca (fourth in earnings) continued hisstrong play. But after that the lineup gets a bit dodgy.Four-time Cupper Jose Maria Olazabal's career may be overbecause of his arthritic feet, and Torrance is starting to playlike a 43-year-old, with only three top-10 finishes in 20tournaments. Bernhard Langer (eight straight Cups) hasn't playedso poorly since 1979, having snapped his streak of winning atournament in each of 16 straight years, as well as his tourrecord of making 68 straight cuts. (He missed three.) Andthere's Seve. Suffering from el gripe at the Volvo Masters, heshot a lethargic 74-76-76-78, finishing 62nd and ending a lousyyear in which he placed 69th on the money list.

As Ballesteros, eight times a Ryder Cupper, continues hisdownward spiral, it becomes increasingly unlikely that he willplay his way onto the team. With Faldo, now a mainstay on theU.S. Tour, a no-brainer as one of the captain's selections, willBallesteros have the audacity to burn his last pick on himself?"Ask me next September," he says, between sniffs. "You say youonly have a few questions, but then ask many. It is like theautograph seekers in restaurants who say, 'I'm sorry to botheryou,' then do it anyway. I should be getting paid as a publicrelations man, not a golfer." It was nice to see thatBallesteros's Ryder Cup responsibilities had not become a strain.

Anyway, the possibilities are tantalizing. "We have only juststarted," Seve finally says. "To be talking about the team nowis ridiculous."

A week at Valderrama has a way of setting the mind to wandering."It's nice here, isn't it?" Clarke says. "I think I'll plan tocome back in September."

COLOR PHOTO: BOB MARTIN Rising stars like Clarke might be foreign to Americans, but they are a sign of strength for Europe in '97. [Darren Clarke playing golf]COLOR PHOTO: BOB MARTIN Valderrama's signature 4th, Jones's favorite par-5, is sure to be a swing hole during the Ryder Cup. [View of golf hole and players]TWO COLOR PHOTOS: MATTHEW HARRISBallesteros has been impressed with both of Europe's top rookies, Bjorn (above) and Harrington. [Thomas Bjorn; Padraig Harrington]